Mechanical manipulating mechanism



Feb. 15, 1927; 1, ,5 3

C. B. HARDY )MECHAVNICAL MANIPULATING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 25, 1922 6/41": BJVa/uy.

' INVENTOR.

BY ATTORNEY motion directlyopposed to that beingsimul taneously imparted to the lower. spinal mus W'GI'B Of the muscles Patented Feb. 15, 1927.

CLARA n. HARDY, or LOS ANGELES, cALIroRnIA.

' ice,

MECHANICAL 'MANIPULATING MECHANISM.

Application filed September 25,1922. Serial No. 590,499.

This invention relates to mechanicalma-' nipulation of the muscles of the human body, especially the spinal muscles, and pertains particularly to improved motions and I effects for such machines. v

. The invention has for its principal ob ject the provision of a machine which will quite positively draw the spinal muscles laterally outward from the spine in a suitable and predetermined period of time and subsequently allow them to return, without appreciable imparted acceleration, to normal position of their own volition.

It is the general consensus of opinion of those skilled in the art that a muscle, being somewhat yieldable, has-a certain inherent inertia, and while in manipulation it may be positivelysmoved outward, it should not be hastened in its return, it being one of the objects of manipulation to encourage the circulation of the congested lymph a-nd venous flow. I v

Another object of the invention "is to' pro vide a manipulating mechanism which-may be applied to a usual surgical table so'th'at the patient'may be in a fully relaXed -reclining position, and which mechanism .Whenso' applied may resilientlysupport the patient with a view to providing against u'ncomtortableness' while tu'rther improv-'.

ing the effect of the manipulating mechanism, as will be hereinafter "apparent Another object of the invention is toprovide means whereby the mechanical-manip-.

ulation may be effected through resilient material, such asa sheet or clothing, without effecting the efficiency of the machine My invention contemplates, the use of a plurality of movable applicator elements for manipulating the muscles, and. it is therefore another object of the invention to provide an applicator, which while being suitably resilient and devoid of any abrading effect will positively take hold., asflit the patient.

Another object of the invention isthe provision of convenient attachments for machines of the above character whereby to some of the mu scles, such as those lying in v V v V V posed on substantially the same plane as the" the region of the necln'may be imparted a cles.

without discomfort Another object of the invention is to pro vide a machineot the above character and for the above purposes that willbe of rea-V sonable first-cost and is suitable for private or home use; particular consideration being given to simplicity of inechainism, sanitation, strength and accessibility for repair, replacement, adjustment and removal of parts for cleaning.

Other objects of the invention are to pro-, vide general practicability in the 'way' of portability and adjustment to meet various conditions.

Still other objects and appearhereinafter. a

I have illustrated by the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of myv 1nve ntion,'but I do notlimit myself thereto,-1nasmuch as it is conceived thatthe embodiment shown" and hereinafter de-. scribed may be, substantially altered without enlarging the scope of the invention,

advantages will within the appended claim.

In the drawings, i Figure 1, is a plan view ofa surgical table to which the said embo'dimentof my inven tion is shown as applied; parts being shown broken'away to reveal underlying'parts.

1 Figure 2, is a view in enlarged detail sec-' tion seen on a. line 22 of F ig. 1,-1ooking in the direction indicated by the a rrow'sl 'Figure 3, is a view in longitudinal section seen on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. i

a Figure 4,is a view in vertical section of an" "of the aperture.

The manipulating mechanism, indicated by 10, is disposed immediately below the aperture andis supported by the table. Distabletop forming vpart or the said mechanism there are provided a plurality of in? dependently movable applicators 11, 12 and" 13,1etc., which it is'the object of the remainder of the mechanism to actuate and control.

Saidapplicators consist essentially. of a triangular rocker' arm- 14, an applicator shaft *slidabl'e vertically in a bore 16. formed in said rocker arm, a rigiddetachable ap- .plicator element l7 carried at the upper end ofsaid shaft, and an applicator, cushion 18 mounted on said applicator element. r

The applicators are arranged in, two sets, one set to each side of the longitudinal cen- 1 ter lineof the aperture, and for revolubly holding each set of said applicators a nonrotatable shaft 19 is provided. Each shaft extends parallel with an adjacent margin of. the aperture, and is so spaced fromthe other that. the inner adj acent. margin.- of op- Po'sefl applicator, elem normally v I spaced apart a distance oniysh hflyg t than that of the human spinons processes of theispiiial column. a

f 1: Elements 17. are each provided. witlran integral boss 20, havin'ga bore 21 intofwhich z'the' applic'ator shait fitssnugly, The boss oneach;elementis locatedto 'oneside of the center line of the element so thatwith the,

- applicator element's arranged and spaced as shown, the.rockenarins of one set are stag-. V "geredrelatlve tothosejof theyother set; This.

.arms moving sy chronously. toward. e ch arrangem nt .-.pe.rm s of pposed. rocker o her without poss bilityof i rfe ence n ch-shaf s. equidistant.frometheg ei :spitecf the;coinparatix elyy ll be? .7 tween them. m I c The rocker arm is provided with a socket p rti n. 2: n.- w h' re- 6 is provided,

" and a. web 1.2 integra th w th; and 1 also.

integral. with. a t nsverse b ss. 24:4; Said.

' rock r. arm? may. be ri vqln ly lq lltesi n e theriQt-shaftsiwr.

dian. linear. the fa le ai t e. d tance i .determined by the character of the arc wh ch itiis. esiredjtc. v the .ailizliqa p elements move through 'E'C ms .2 a e pres e for. actuat ng. t

I rock r; armsm o. impart.:n ion..t tlla ppl ater elements i cams'are ifthsfiquia lif -ifi ypeiffori aJpii mst apparent h minft r: i The f c ms ar anged; in s t o e. etf ea sjifo i acb s to' applicat r e r;

meats, nd nse m for each .iiocks r arm.-

' Apainoffiam a tsZ d.28i f pe t s y arejprov ded. to" wh c the cams, re adj-fist blyl fi e y-- m ans of t swea -$9 "Asrithe lcams rotate in the,fdirc ction,indi v cated by the arrows they act up o rapacl'fit) pres ded; n; each 0: 5 th espe tive o k rmsand: the-angalarity,o atl -p ct; t ken in commiew th; he desi V themmithat i 'the. am lmo e the rock r .q kly without. appreciab e sh ckiandc a d locker arm will remain substantially inactive through the major part of a complete revolution; of the cam shaft.

Within the bore of each rocker arm a spring 31 is provided which supports the weight. of the applicator element and its shafigand which'i'vill also resiliently support part of the weight of a patient. 7

The springs are so designed that all the applicators combined will be capable of rerocker arms in oneclirection,:means.arere quired for. returning. said. rock' r arms, t0; normal position, and for this, purpose, and in conformance, with someotthe objectscf the invention, yieldable rctulllmeans is pro vided in. the. form 019 a spring-135, Said springis fixed, to thegroclrer arm as, at 36,; and. extends over. to a frame, ineinb er 31o the table, to which it is secured. Thetension required for eachspring is d etermine,d,

by the forcewith-which itis desire'd to have, the applicators returned, to;,norn 1a l position and the springs may be changed or the tensionthere i; a er d. t m-eet-cli fa fs conditions.

The-.tableincludes the removabletop i to Pr id sib li y o h mecllaa' 1 33.; nd. a; 'rectangularf frame a1 for s'uppgrtinggsaid p;.t e f amein urn beingheld gy a plarality of legs8. At oneend of the t,ab le,,ac l

a transverse truss= 42 is providedigr,

1165 I jacent the corresponding end oftheaperture the m shafts nd r ckerrm su p ill s.

shafts, Said truss is provided with hosses t c sh o h ch a flattene .6l of a c r spon ing cket ar l ui peat as shaft is f tted, whereby each shaft ;is held nst ti n, Bela-W t e e s s s r ings 45 are provided. ,in which the camshafts are rotatably, held The cam shafts are .each pro vid edavith a' gear 46 l7 respectivelynfiired thereto, and

said gears are in mesh with each other so that thecam shafts run in opposed. direcs ti ons, An electric moto flg, or other Suit able sourceof power is prov ded for :operat.-..

.ing the mechanism, and said motor.,ro.tatesa main drive gear 4 9. A plurality ofother gearsQSQ andbllare interposed bet-ween the.

gearfl an d gear 49 to providefor' greatireml cam shaftsrequire several seconds *tov vcomplete onerevolutmn. The motorv isifsupport:

ductionfofspeed, it b einginten ded 1 ed on a [bracket 52 which is} in turn supported by transverse member 5301: tliefra'meQ theapplicator element will be substantially less compressible and yieldable than the re- 'One' of the salient features of the inven tion resides in theform' of applicator element 17 and the cushion 18 thereon. At the inner en-dof' said applicator element avertically' extending lip'54 is provided. This'hp whileserving to retain cushion 18 in position con-- forms to a decrease in the thickness of'the cushion as at 55. Said cushions'are preferably made of moulded'rubber and are sufliciently resilient to provide-for comfort. It

will be seen that the portion of decreased thickness, being backed by'the metal lip of maining portion of the pad. It is found that by virtue of this relative incompresslbility, that portion of the pad is capable of extreme frictional engagement, and it is found that applicator elements so designed will positive take hold, as it were, of a muscle and move it outward'with it withoutdiscomfort to the patient. In fact the ap plicator is found to be equally capable when the clothing is interposed between it and the patient.

I The operationof the mechanism will be better understood from the following: In

ly setting the cams, any desired consecutlveorder of operation, or timing of the applicators may be effected. Preferably they are set so that a consistent sequence is carried out, but this is entirely at the option of the operator.

'When a patient lies upon the table with the back resting over the aperture his weight will be borne largely by the applicators, which will be depressed accordingly, and which as a group will conform to the spinal column and adjacent muscles. The weight borne-by any particular applicator will determine the degree to which that applicator will function. It will be apparent from the foregoing that as the cams are revolved,

each applicator will be forced through an upward and outward arc. The period during which this comparatively positive .movement takes, place will be about onefourth of that required'for a complete revolution of the cam shaft. 1 V

By virtue of the cushion design, that muscleresting upon anapplicator will be drawn slowly but quite positively out-ward, according to the weight it exerts on the applicator,

awayfrom the spinal column, thereby allowing congested venous and lymph fluid to circulate. When the applicator has completed its advance stroke the cam allows it to -re- .upward and inward motion.

turn. Its return is prompted partially b the spring and partially by the weight com:-

ing on the applicator, although it wlll be apparent, since all the remaining applicators act to practically release the weight from that particular"applicator, the latter will 'be.

returned, under usual conditions," by the spring; The spring is designed, however,

so that if the muscle is sluggish in returning said springwillnot act to force itlback too positively. The longintervalofftime al'-- lowed for the applicator to return, -coupled with the flexibility given it by the spring, allows ample time for congested venous andlymph fluid to distribute itself in conformance with the changing position of the adjacent muscle or muscles.

During the advance or retrograde move- I ment of the applicator the provision-of the yieldable mounting for the applicator re sultsin the cushion remalning in operative contact with the-muscle at all times. Each and every applicator functions in the same way, and inasmuch as each applicator may change in elevation, or may return to normal independent of any of the'others, the manipulation of all muscles asa whole, subject to the machine, will be complete and thorough and closely in conformance to the amount and degree of positiveness of manipulation required by each respective muscle.

7 Such extreme adaptability and flexibility of the'machine not only renders it highly efiicient in itstreatment, but also'provides for the maximum of c'omfort to the patient and prevents undue stresson any muscle orother part of the anatomy subjected to treatment. I I V In Fig. 4 I have illustrated one form of applicator, which by proper proportion of the cushion thereof may be used for manipulating muscles in the neck or abdomen. This form of applicator is recommended as an attachment for the machine and is designed to move through an upward and inward path instead of an upward and outward path. This is made possible by an elongated portion 56 of the applicator element which extends from the shaft to which it is attached, across the center lineof the aperture to the opposite side thereof. .Thus I by the provision of'afew such attachments for the machine to conform to muscles of various form, a variey of motions and effects may be obtained, while the machineas a whole retains itsefficiency;Obviously by placing a pair ofsuch attachments onthe iupper endof the machine the spine 'may be given the usual treatment, while the muscles of the back of the neck may be treated-by an While I have shown a specific co nstruction and arrangement of parts for carrying.

out my invention, I do not limit myself 7 thereto, but may-employ any construction;

r Ink miw gm ntw ;pa r s thm nl n thg scope' ,of my invention, within 7 the Ha horizontally arang ing plate (112 5- 7 V 1 'ing}, a; stl a ightyforward edge," a vertically lies said-pla ns ,tha t the poptionfif the ushi n appliattfi for! machines of, the, dass msgng lip ghshid fom wardi edge, .-aresilient "cpshiomoverlying said plate s aid cushlpn bgngg Of!SllifiGlQIlhIvhlGkIlfiSS, 9116128. 1t; 0ver-- upper surface of said .x-tension, being on,

substantially the plum of thelu ppe psurifaee off: the; 'adj'ztcent portion. 20f the" cushion} whelrebyg the entine voushion. presenta sub:

stgntfially zqontinumls. surf-ace; 'th remaining edges off saicLlplznm being devoid of 'suchl lips; and ,the likes whereby unrestrained: lat eral, displmennent'v vofia'he' cushion may take p1 ace said upper. surface: being i .uncqvered and; adapted-ion direct cont-act with r a yielch ing portion of the hum-an bOd-y'v,

CLARA .713. HARD 

